A Spiritual Christmas Crib: Preparing Our Hearts for Christ’s Coming

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*Meditations are taken from “Devotions in Preparation for the Coming of the Christchild, and at the Crib, from Christmas to Purification” by Rev. Rederic Nelson, published by Marian House, Powers Lake, ND 58773. (This book is no longer in print.)

By Catherine McManamon, Catholic Company, Dec. 1, 2017

If you’re anything like me, once Thanksgiving has come and gone, Christmas can’t come soon enough. There’s just something about decking the halls and James Taylor At Christmas that brings out my inner child and an even greater sense of joy during the month of December.

But with all the excitement of the Christmas season, it can be easy to forget about Advent, and to neglect spiritual preparations for Baby Jesus to enter our souls and the world.

I came across this daily meditation by Fr. Frederic Nelson* called “A Spiritual Christmas Crib” a few weeks ago and found it to be a meaningful way to help prepare my heart for Christ’s birth. This spiritual exercise is meant to build a crib for Jesus Christ in our hearts so that they will be worthy of His presence come December 25th.

I invite you to partake in this spiritual journey with me. Each day of December, there will be one part of the stable that you can “build” by reading the short meditation as well as practicing the suggested spiritual exercise. It is also highly encouraged to recite the short prayer as often as you can throughout the day.

I wish you all a most blessed and fruitful Advent!

December 1

December 2

December 3

December 4

December 5

December 6

December 7

December 8

December 9

December 10

Continue: https://www.catholiccompany.com/getfed/spiritual-christmas-crib/

Catherine McManamon–Catherine is the second oldest, coming from a family of five girls. She is originally from Ohio but now lives in Charlotte, NC, where she manages digital marketing for the Catholic Company.